EVERETT — Witnesses told traffic investigators that a Monroe man crossed four lanes of Highway 527 before slamming into an oncoming Buick LeSabre.
The March 17 crash killed the Buick’s driver, Gale Arnold, 63.
Prosecutors on Monday charged Dane Smith, 31, with vehicular homicide. They allege Smith was under the influence of drugs when he crashed his Honda into Arnold’s car.
Smith reportedly told Washington State Patrol troopers at the scene that he’d injected a gram of heroin seven hours earlier and smoked some marijuana a couple of hours before the crash.
A trooper reported that Smith didn’t smell of alcohol but noted that he showed signs of being high. The trooper said Smith’s impairment was “obvious,” Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow wrote in court papers.
Smith pleaded not guilty Tuesday. He made a short video appearance in Snohomish County Superior Court, where a judge maintained bail at $250,000. Smith wore a bandage on his left hand. The accident report indicated that Smith broke a finger during the crash.
Arnold, who was trapped in the wreckage, died at the scene.
The impact of the crash peeled the exterior metal off the driver’s side of his car and detached the door pillar, Darrow wrote.
Witnesses told troopers that before the crash they saw a Honda drift into oncoming traffic near Thrasher’s Corner in Bothell. The driver pulled back into his lane and then veered onto the shoulder, almost hitting the curb. The driver than pulled hard to the left, crossing all lanes of traffic before colliding with the Buick.
The Honda spun around in the roadway and was struck by a car behind Arnold’s vehicle. The force of that collision sent the Honda into the air. The car flipped and landed on its roof.
Smith was found on his hands and knees inside the car. Witnesses spotted a syringe inside nearby. More drug paraphernalia often associated with heroin use also was discovered inside the car.
Smith has two felony drug convictions. He also has 20 misdemeanor convictions, including a 2007 reckless driving charge.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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